Japan's swimmers defy altitude fears

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Olympic swimmers will prepare for this year's London Games by undergoing altitude training as planned, despite the death of Norwegian Alexander Dale Oen last week.

World 100 metre breaststroke world champion Dale Oen died after suffering a heart attack at a high altitude training camp in Arizona, prompting Japanese officials to rethink their plans.

However, the Japan Swimming Federation (JSF) told Reuters on Thursday that plans for eight swimmers to train at altitude in France and the United States would "go ahead as planned" following an executive meeting.

Japan's swimmers asked for high altitude sessions in June and July not to be scrapped, local media reported, adding that doctors would be dispatched to monitor the athletes.

JSF director Koji Ueno had initially said Japan "could not send any athletes who have concerns about what happened (to Dale Oen) under any circumstances".